Poinsettia, cultivar `268`, is a sport of cultivar `C-27` with large, bright red erect flower bracts. It branches more freely than `C-27` but retains its desirable flower characteristics. `268` is unique because the flower bracts remain erect and do not droop even after commercial shipping and handling or as the flowers mature. It always looks "fresh" which adds to its beauty and increases its value as a consumer product. Poinsettia `268` can be grown in a relatively cool greenhouse, making it more economical to grow commercially.
This new poinsettia cultivar originated as a sport of the seedling `C-27` in a greenhouse in Encinitas, Calif. It was selected from many plants because of its large erect flower bracts and self-branching traits which distinguish it from other poinsettia cultivars, and seem to make it a desirable plant for commercial greenhouse production. After selection, vegetatively reproduction of this plant by stem cuttings for test purposes in Encinitas, Calif., and clones of the plant were subjected to successive generations of vegetative propagation which demonstrated that its distinct characteristics hold true from generation to generation. The plant height of `268` is somewhat shorter than that of `C-27`. Under the same cultural and environmental conditions, the relative shortness of `268` offers certain economic advantages over `C-27`, in that, less growth retarding chemicals need to be applied to control undesirable plant height.